Professional Media briefs

A review of 202 articles on the risk of heart attacks with rosiglitazone (Avandia) concluded that authors who had a favorable view of the risk of heart attack with the drug were more likely to have conflicts of interest with manufacturers of antihyperglycemic agents in general and Avandia maker GlaxoSmithKline. The study, published in the British Medical Journal, found that just over half of the articles had a conflict of interest statement and 45% of authors had a financial relationship with a manufacturer.

Members of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors met for the first time in Queenstown, New Zealand last month. Topics of discussion at the two-day meeting included conflict of interest worries and pharma financial relationships with physicians.

Monthly Prescribing Reference is celebrating its 25th anniversary in June. The brand is owned by MM&M parent Haymarket.

The American Medical Association plans to freshen up the Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness Journal. “A more sophisticated platform is being developed to help improve the journal's visibility and engagement with the medical and public health community,” said the AMA.